The Dawes Arboretum

The Dawes Arboretum was established in 1929 by Beman Dawes and his wife, Bertie, inspired by Beman’s youth in Marietta, Ohio, where his father’s lumber business fostered an early appreciation for trees. 

In 1918, Beman purchased 140 acres of the old Brumback farm in Licking Township, later renamed “Daweswood,” which featured gently rolling hills and mature native trees, and the brick farmhouse became the family’s country retreat from their Columbus home. Beman and Bertie shared their love of nature with their five children, using Daweswood both as a retreat and a place to pursue horticultural interests, with Beman aiming to inspire others to plant trees by collecting species from around the world that could thrive in central Ohio. 

The first planned tree planting began in 1917 with 50 sugar maples, and by the time The Dawes Arboretum was founded in 1929, more than 50,000 trees had been planted and the property had expanded to 293 acres. 

The Arboretum was created as a private foundation “to encourage the planting of forest and ornamental trees…to give pleasure to the public and education to the youth.”